Hmm. I definitely like this better than the other installments (perhaps in part because it put more emphasis on characters I like better). For me at least, that ending didn't have much payoff, as references to site injokes rarely have dramatic value. Others may disagree on that point.

All in all, it's pretty good. For now, I'm going to novote, but there's a good chance I'll upvote upon further consideration.

I'll just pipe in here. I actually tried to avoid site in-jokes with hatbot's introduction and as far as I'm concerned the only pre-existing canon on Hatbot I'm considering is Mann's original tale, The Hatbot Chronicles. The -J or other in-jokes about him are pretty much excluded from this canon.

I dunno, in previous installments, the memeage was cringeworthy, but I'm started to like Thorn's naivete. Not, mind, that this should be taken as carte blanche to go over 9000 with the memes. It's more the narration that I would say needs tightening.